The Right to Swap Arms for Bears : Yorba Linda Exchange Program Raises Public Awareness

On the theory that every gun that is taken off the street makes the world a bit safer, gun swap and buyback programs have sprung up around the nation. In Yorba Linda last weekend, 15 guns were exchanged for teddy bears--a program that not only took some weapons out of circulation but also put some smiles on the faces of youngsters and parents.

The exchange was a collaboration between Student Physicians for Social Responsibility at UC Irvine and the Brea Police Department, which also serves Yorba Linda.

Variations on the exchange program have worked well elsewhere around the country. For example, a gifts-for-guns program in New York City two years ago took more than 700 firearms off the street. Anyone who turned in a gun received a certificate for toys, and the offer later was extended to include gasoline, athletic shoes and other goods. In 1993, a guns-for-cash exchange program in San Francisco collected about 1,730 pistols, rifles and shotguns. There are other examples.

Gun violence is properly characterized by Robert Wesley Jr., an associate professor of medicine at UCI and one of the Orange County program participants, as “a public health epidemic of enormous proportions.” The organizers are to be commended for their efforts to make the community safer. Creative uses of such swap or trade programs should be explored by those wishing to make their streets a little safer.

The pervasiveness of violence and the enormous number of weapons out there make this a daunting task. Nobody is arguing that swap programs make a huge dent in the problem. However, while the number of guns taken out of circulation is small, especially in the Yorba Linda program, such efforts serve the cause of increasing public awareness.

If they can make one home safer, well and good. The Yorba Linda program grew specifically out of concern about recent killings in the city. In one case, a woman was shot by her 14-year-old son. One of the mothers participating in the program expressed relief that her children might be handling a teddy bear instead of a gun. That’s a powerful image that suggests the worthiness of the effort.